e-Learning and e-Citizenship Between PKM and PST

IT (Information Technology) and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) are undoubtedly changing mankind’s contexts and environments but, what’s more, they are modifying subjects, communities and the whole society. As a consequence citizenship has gained new meanings, and national and international institutions have been forced to define new key competences to be developed by new generations to better face the challenges in the knowledge society. The school is strongly involved in the definition/development of new teaching-learning strategies to reduce the gap between people’s expectations and what school is required to do for people’s cultural growth. On this side many suggestions have come from university and research; constructivist and socio constructivist instruments and techniques, with the involvement of new technologies contribute in the development of rich Learning environments. Virtual learning environments (VLE) and constructivist learning environments (CLE) are probably the frontier for the changes to be introduced in everyday teaching. On another hand it has to be noted that ICT is strongly influencing students’ personal knowledge construction by increasing the relevance of informal education with respect to formal education. As a conclusion the following question is straightforward: “what are the instruments and the strategies students (and, more generally, people) must have to consciously and freely move in the knowledge society and to autonomously acquire information and build new knowledge?” To answer to the above question the instruments and the methods usually adopted by corporate have been applied to individuals, and Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) has been developed. In the author’s opinion together with (PKM), a further method can be defined: Personal Strategic Thinking (PST). They both contribute in helping people to get and select information, in building new knowledge, in finding routes for solving problems and in making the right choices in everyday life. The implementation of practices by means of ICT, the author proposes in the paper, can be seen as an educational method for the implementation of the above strategies.